Mike Bonin's Newsletter "Your August Neighborhoods First Newsletter" West LA Edition
Your August Neighborhoods First Newsletter
Under a plan released this month, a series of Westside streets would receive new street trees, furniture, landscaping, enhanced paving, pedestrian lighting, curb extensions, mid-block crossings, and median islands as a way of improving corridors people use to access the Expo Line station West LA.
The Expo Corridor Streetscape Plan sets a "coordinated palette" of improvements to five major corridors which serve as pedestrian access points to the Expo/Bundy, Expo/Sepulveda, and Palms Stations: Bundy Drive, Olympic Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard, National Boulevard, and Palms Boulevard. Amongst other upgrades, the plan calls for the addition of a landscaped median along a roughly half-mile stretch of Olympic Boulevard between Centinela and Barrington Avenue.
Implementation of the proposed improvements is expected to occur over time through publicly and privately financed developments within the plan area, though the city could pursue grants that would finance construction. The improvements could also be built independently by a non-profit organization or a business improvement district.
Find out more about the Expo Corridor Streetscape Plan in Urbanize at https://urbanize.la/post/streetscape-improvements-planned-near-westside-expo-line-stations.
The West Los Angeles Civic Center (1645 West Corinth Avenue) is home to the Mike’s West LA Field Office, the West LA Neighborhood Council, and serves the neighbors of the Westside as a vital government resource center, housing the district offices of various public services, as well as the district offices of County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and Congressmember Ted Lieu.
The venue has served the community throughout the years with events such as the West L.A. Farmers Market and the West L.A Summer Concert Series. Moreover, it has evolved into a cultural resource featured in videos and video games, as a space where people from around the world come to visit and skate.
While the Civic Center has served the community well over the years, the existing facilities are in poor condition and long overdue for a complete renovation. These facilities include the parking lot, common areas, recreation center, library, senior center, and City staff offices.
The City and County currently are exploring opportunities to provide updated and improved civic office facilities, community space, senior citizen facilities, and affordable housing. This type of project would revitalize the West Los Angeles community and enhance the resources and amenities available to westside residents.
The City of Los Angeles is looking for input from the West Los Angeles community in order to develop a vision for the site that will promote civic pride and provide vital, quality amenities through a potential mixed-use project.
The city hosted a community meeting this month to seek feedback from neighbors and Mike’s office additionally launched a survey to gather more input. You can complete the online survey here.
If you have any further comments or questions, please reach out to our Senior Planning Deputies for the Westside: Jason Patrick Douglas (jason.p.douglas@lacity.org) and Len Ngyuen (len.ngyuen@lacity.org) at 213-473-7011.
Finally, you can find out more in an Urbanize post here.